Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Dan Duryea consistently upstages the staid Audie Murphy(as Clay) during their many interactions, both negative and friendly. They eventually become an amusing reluctant buddy pair. I'll classify Dan(as Whitey)as a ruffian rather than a villain, at least in the context of this story. Unclear how he made a living. The real bad guys, surprisingly, are Sheriff Kenyon(Paul Birch) lawyer Tom Meredith, and their henchman Ted Ringer(Russell Johnson). They're into cattle rustling, and silver shipment theft, for example. Very surprisingly, the sheriff and Tom are the major participants in the cattle rustling operation. Tom is decked out in his business suit and bow tie while rustling! When owner Patrick O'Mara and his teenage son are awakened, they ride after the rustlers but are shot dead. Clay O'Mara, in distant Denver, receives a letter from Tom telling about the tragedy, and saying he will settle the estate. When Clay arrives, Tom has already sold his father's ranch(to himself?), and suggests that Clay might as well go back to where he came from, as they can handle any further details relating to the murder or property. But Clay wants to get in on the hunt for the killers, and demands to be deputized. Tom realizes that this might be a way to get rid of him quickly. So, he suggests gunslinger Whitey is a good possibility. Clay goes looking for Whitey in Diablo, and finds him in a saloon. Whitely draws on him, but Clay is faster, and shoots the gun out of his hand. Whitey reluctantly submits to Clay's arrest, and they head for San Diego, and various adventures until the real killers are dealt with. Gorgeous Susan Cabot plays Sheriff Kenyon's live-in niece, Laurie, who initially is engaged to marry Tom. However, as her opinion of Clay rises, her opinion of Tom declines, especially toward the end, and she dumps him for Clay. ..Abby Lane is another featured female, she being an entertainer and singer at a Diablo saloon. She has an active relationship with Jed Ringer, and a past relationship with Whitey. Obviously, she's the stereotypical 'bad girl', to Laurie's image as the 'good girl'....Denver Pyle plays the minister, who talks to Clay when he arrives about not being too hasty in his thirst for revenge.Jack Elan plays Tim Lowerie who, with his brothers, steal an all white horse. Clay is charged with finding it. Whitey leads him to the Loweries, where he suspects it is. Clay takes the horse away, but the Loweries don't give up that easily.In short, this is an interesting oater, with Duryea providing an extra kick. See it in color at YouTube.

Audie Murphy's name may be at the top of the bill but it's pretty much Dan Duryea's picture the way he overtakes any scene he's in. Duryea reminded me of Richard Widmark as Tommy Udo in the 1947 film "Kiss of Death" the way he laughs maniacally whether the situation calls for it or not. I was thinking that if there was an old lady in the story, he might have thrown her down a flight of stairs just for the fun of it.Murphy's character is Clay O'Mara, returning from a railroad job (no, really, he worked for a railroad, he wasn't railroaded) to track down the villain who murdered his father and brother during a cattle rustling operation. His quarry is upstanding citizen Tom Meredith (William Pullen) doing a hide in plain sight in concert with crooked Santiago town sheriff (Paul Birch). The pair send him on a mission sure to get O'Mara seriously killed when they finger Whitey Kincaid (Duryea) as a prime suspect.It's never explained in the story how Clay O'Mara came by his skill with a six shooter. I was probably more surprised that Kincaid when the 'kid' shot the gun right out of his hand in a barroom face off. Sure you expect it of the story's hero but the groundwork was never laid for it, and O'Mara himself never gave a clue how he was so handy with a gun. Maybe he should have been the ringer in the story instead of Russell Johnson.Say, did you notice the bars of the jail cell Whitey got locked up in - what's with the flimsy cross-hatch design? It looked like you could have pried them open with a decent crow bar if you had one. Probably why Kincaid didn't have one. He didn't need it actually since the sheriff gave him his gun back.I don't know what might be considered the first revisionist Western but Duryea's performance here might be considered one of the earliest examples of a cowboy anti-hero. He's a villain you come to terms with the way Murphy's character did when he turned his back on the outlaw and lived to tell about it. It's too bad really that he didn't make it to the end of the picture.

This is probably one of my top 3-4 favorite Audie Murphy movies, and I've seen about 20 of them--or about 50% of what he made. Dan Duryea as Whitey Kinkaid is a very interesting and amusing character who plays nicely off Audie's very credible performance. Russell Johnson (later the Professor on Gilligan's Island) as Jed Ringer and the lawyer and sheriff have some great lines that offset the B picture sets. All in all, this is a highly watchable movie, along with another Murphy/Duryea team-up, "Six Black Horses." Duryea and Murphy appeared together again in Jimmy Stewart's "Night Passage," but I like Ride Clear of Diablo and Horses better. Would pay $500 to have Audie's full filmography on DVD.

Ride clear of Diablo is my favourite Audie Murphy western.Its exciting,suspenseful and the rapport between audie and Dan Duryea is great.This film is highly enjoyable with humour and a good twist in the end.This is a feel good western.